As Time Goes On
by UnGod
Summary: Fifteen years after the current series, Beacon Academy reopens it's doors. A new group of hunters have arrived, and with them, new strengths and weaknesses. But in the peripheral, not all is at ease...


AS TIME GOES ON

 _And what shall you do, ye guardians, ye protectors,_

 _When thy strength fails you, and thy ranks thin?_

 _The next generation, what will they be_

 _As time goes on?_

 _ **Found written on a stone tablet in Forever Fall. Origin unknown.**_

Chapter One: Fifteen Years.

The wind was a fickle thing. It existed merely to change, it seemed. Rarely did it keep itself consistent, but rather shifted frequently. In fact, it was measured by it's change. An observation that could be applied to many things, of course. The world itself was measured by it's change. The times when it stayed the same were of little note, except perhaps as a prequel to the storm of change. Such a time they were in, and had been. True, there were little events, events that required heroes, but they didn't threaten the collective whole. No, the whole of society had not been pushed to such a brink in years. Not since the shadows of society had risen to consume it had they been thus threatened. Not even a generation had gone by since those frightful days, only fifteen years. Fifteen years of relative peace. Fifteen years of rebuilding, and finally progress. Fifteen years is just enough time for the war-scarred survivors to grow, for the children barely old enough to remember the cataclysm to be of age. And this, this is the story of Remnant's next generation. A generation wary of the crucible of blood that preceded them, fed on stories of heroism and grown on tales of gods. And, as time goes on, they shall forge their world into a different one.

VALE AIRDOCKS, 8AM

The world was a funny place indeed. Fifteen years had been long enough to open the gates of Beacon again, and yet it wasn't long enough to rebuild some parts of the damn city. Of course, as important as infrastructure was, they did need to train hunters again. Not that their current teams weren't good enough, but they wouldn't last forever. If they couldn't train new hunters, then extinction was the next event. Grimm had already attacked the new Mountain Glenn settlement, but that ended well enough. Team RWBY had torn through them, leaving smoke behind. They were, amazingly, still together after the fifteen years. Of course, various members had to go on leave occasionally, such was when Miss Xiao Long underwent that operation to replace her old bionic arm with the updated version, or when Miss Belladonna had her child. Schnee went on hiatuses occasionally to solve some internal problem at her company, as well. Noctis Tael could list off another dozen instances, per teammate. He was a bit of an expert on the team, having made them a minor (Minor, he insisted frequently.) obsession. Hell, he had originally modeled Sliver Moon after Cresent Rose. That hadn't lasted long. The High-Caliber Sniper Scythe had proven much, much too difficult for him to use. It didn't fit his style at all, much to the chagrin of the teenager. Not that he minded his newer, adapted model. He had kept it a secret for the longest time, unwilling to let others tinker with his beauty and joy. Now, if he could only show it to Ruby, somehow….He was sure, positive she'd love it.

Hell, he'd love to meet any of them. From the reports, and the biographies, they seemed live an enjoyable bunch. He was just sure he'd like them. Maybe they'd visit Beacon sometime, to see the revived school's first generation? Oh, that'd be amazing beyond anything he'd imagined! Meeting his heroes….he had fantasized that a thousand times.

Noctis tapped a foot to the music beating from his headphones. The airship should arrive any minute, but that was the assurance the bored attendant had made almost half an hour ago. He gave the said attendant a grin, but the worker ignored him. Typical. He felt a buzz in his pocket, and flipped open his Scroll to see what was going on. Ah, a message. He flicked it open, reading the text quickly. It was simple, short, and to the point, with no name on the sender. _Sighted at Vale, twenty minutes ago. Two at least. No confirmation on which._ Good enough for him. He closed the Scroll, getting lost in the music. It wasn't any of this modern garbage that seemed to get pumped out by the drove, it was older stuff, from before the Collapse. He remembered, dimly, listening to this with his parents. Back when Dad had been alive. That would make it….fourteen years ago. Dad had died when he was three, when those Grimm had-

-Blood. Blood staining the walls. Laughter. Laughter? Grimm didn't laugh. Who was laughing? Someone was. Blood painted on the walls. Blood spread on the ceiling and floor. Blood, blood, blood…..

"Heya!" A cheerful voice broke his silence. He turned, dropping his headphones, his mismatched eyes locking to the person next to him. The music blared into the air, no longer sealed against his ears. "Ooh, cool, you have that eye thing! What was it called….Heterochromatia? No...Heterochomatics? Ugh, hang on…" The speaker bit her lip, looking to the side, giving Noctis a chance to take inventory of the newcomer. Taller than him, barely. She seemed to like red, judging by that blouse and darker leggings. It worked so well with her russet hair and clear blue eyes, now furrowed with confusion. The blue eyes were unexpected, almost refreshing in all that red and brown. Something else caught his eye, a second set of ears atop her head. Wolf ears? Faunas. Even as he thought it, he caught a glimpse of her tail swishing behind her. That was new. He had never known many faunas as a kid...and certainly none so beautiful. That last thought had snuck in, and he ignored it.

"Heterochroma." He corrected gently, helping her along.

She snapped her fingers, bringing her blue eyes back to his. "Yes! That." She looked proud of herself. "Ah, right! Sorry, Brynn Iris." She offered a hand to him. He shook it amiably, smiling his best smile.

"Noctis Tael." He said, winking his silver eye. For just a second, only his green eye could be seen. "Nice to meet you, Brynn." She flashed him a quick smile. Noctis decided to be a gentleman and turn his music off, so he could have an actual conversation with her. "Beacon?"

"Of course." She said. Her hand dipped to brush at one of those big handguns at her hips, drawing his eyes to her weapons. Judging by the size, he estimated them to be .45 caliber. Two of them, obviously telescoping. Probably change into short swords, or daggers. Maybe something between the two. Quick fighter, probably speed-based. She noticed his gaze, trailing to her hips, and blushed slightly. Was he staring at…?

"U-uh, sorry, bit of a weapon nut. I was admiring what you had." Noctis stammered, embarrassed. Brynn grinned.

"Oh, that's fine." She said, drawing them slowly. She held them up for a few seconds, then sheathed them just as quickly. For almost a second, she seemed….afraid? "Radiance and Luminance." She said, brushing each in turn. Ah, a common theme he had noticed. Creatures of Grimm were often seen as darkness, the absence of any life or light. It was natural that names around such would then develop in response to a near-death at their claws. Noctis' sister had been named Lux for that very reason. Of course, she had never known Dad. "What about you?" Brynn asked, bringing Noctis back to the present.

"Oh, Sliver Moon." He said, drawing his sword. The katana gleamed in the early sun, its blade shining with liquid gold. The crossguard seemed bulky, bulkier than normal. A quick movement, the handle and guard moving with, the sword becoming a sort of spear. A spear with a sword-like blade, albeit. "Naginata." He said, supplying her with the word. Another movement. The blade twisted, sticking out from under the shaft, a gun barrel revealed. One crossguard shifted back, revealed to be a clip. The other rotated, a scope. A trigger and grip shifted out as well.

"That's an old-looking rifle." Brynn said, looking at it.

"Modeled after the ones from the Great war, ninety-five years ago." He agreed. A flick of his wrist and it was back to a sword, which he sheathed.

"Huh! Cool." Brynn said, perking up a bit. A few minutes slid by in silence. Noctis felt himself relax as the airship pulled up, the new Rose model. New Beacon awaited.

AIRSHIP "SUN DRAGON", 8AM

The airship was full of people. People with stories, with lives! It was exciting. So much so, that she rocked back and forth. She got a few odd stares, but she was used to that. Odd stares had been a lot of her life. She quickly brushed an errant strand of hair out of her eyes, wondering if she should redo her low ponytail, but decided against it. She simply tucked it under her hat, her hands in her coat pockets. She whistled a jaunty, quick, happy tune, bouncing slightly in place.

"What are you, dressing up for a play?" She turned her eyes to the man next to her, almost exactly the same height as her. He gestured to her garb, a slight smile on his face. To be fair, it wasn't exactly normal. She was dressed like a noir detective from those old paperbacks. Brown tweed fedora, brown trench coat, leggings, boots. A scarf, too! She even had a pistol, but that was tucked away under her coat. She frowned in response to his question, looking down at herself.

"Nope!" She said cheerfully. His own clothing wasn't normal at all! Some sort of black leather thing, with a wing-like spread of crow feathers in a kind of cape. He stood a mere inch shorter than her, still managing to look her in the eyes. She rocked back and forth on her heels, smiling. "Tweedie Keene!" She said cheerfully, offering a hand.

"Azureus Nox…." He said, shaking her hand, sounding uncertain. He rested his palms back on the hilts of two swords that hung by his side, still giving her an odd look. She smiled, then bit her lip, like she really, REALLY wanted to say something. The silence stretched between the two, until Azureus finally sighed. "What is it?"

Tweedie smiled broadly, her face lighting up. "Well! You know your name, Azureus Nox? Of course you do, hehe. Well, Nox is part of an old legend my parents used to talk about! It's really cool, interesting and stuff. It's one of those old, old legends with the whole 'dual nature' thing, y'know? Like how each Maiden was the opposite of another? Like, Winter and Summer, and, well, you get the picture? Well, Yours is kinda similar. Because Nox, y'know, means Night! There's this old story about these two people, Nox and Lux, Night and Day, or Night and Light. Well, Nox is supposed to be all 'Hrr power means justify ends' and all that jazz, and Lux is all 'Yay be nice happy happy' and stuff, right? I always wanted to know if that one was true!"

Azureus gave her a completely blank look, one of utter and total confusion. Ah, another look she was used to. She got that one more than the other odd look, the 'well who the hell is this chick dressed like a swanky detective' one. Eventually, he slowly said "Well. I don't think I'm from the legend…"

"Oh, probably not! Nox in the stories was kinda a dick, and you seem nice! Also, he had the power to shape darkness itself to his liking. And, well, if you can do that, that'd be some cool stuff, man!" She shot him some finger guns. Azureus still looked positively baffled by her. Who the hell was this girl?

"No, I can't do that…." He said slowly, looking at her like she was a small child. That, or some kind of nuclear device. Maybe both? A baby nuke? Tweedie distracted herself imagining a baby nuke.

"Well! Let me know if you find anyone who can! I love stories, legends, myths. Heroes gathered through time…" She let out a sort of happy sigh just thinking about it.

"Huh." Azureus grunted. "So….This Nox thing. It's a legend?"  
"Yep! Poems found carved into tablets, near Atlas. It's all _Nox, Night, shaper of shadows_ and all sorts of pseudo-religious stuff. Pretty cool, huh?" She was so insanely excited someone else was listening! Azureus was a good friend to listen like this! She just…another person caught her eye. A tiny girl, probably down a foot and forty pounds on Tweedie. Tweedie caught her eye, and the girl blushed instantly and looked away. Odd. Turning her attention back to Azureus, she kept talking. Never missing a beat. "The Lux stuff is even more religious. _Lux is the way, the bringer of peace_ , all that good stuff…"

Azureus looked vaguely disturbed, for some reason. Tweedie discounted it, assuming it was just directed at her. Wow, all three of the common looks in such a short span. However, this was assumptions was incorrect. He was not disturbed by her, but rather by the legend. It was slightly disconcerting, having some woman say your name is that of a pseudo-religious dark god. She didn't seem to notice his discomfort. She...didn't seem to notice much of anything. She just rocked back and forth on her heels, humming a melody he didn't recognize. She was apparently done talking. Azureus let the conversation lapse as he sat, watching minutes erode away and time slip off into the risen sun.

BEACON AIRDOCKS, 8:30AM

Cyan Mickles scanned the crowd in quick beats, jumping quickly from student to student. An interesting allotment. Several people toting combinations he'd never heard of before, like that...Variable Ballistic Halberd? Some people had weapons that seemed innocuous enough, but belied a hidden nature. One girl had two guns slung on a belt, but she moved with such fluidity, he couldn't help but guess she used swords, in some way. The man she was chatting animatedly with had a katana strapped to his side, but that crossguard was far too bulky to be a regular katana. Some kind of gun? Maybe. His own hand rested on his sword, slightly longer and more curved than the other student's. A totally different sword, in his mind. Of course, he should probably move out of the hot sun. He tugged at the edge of his bulletproof vest slightly, letting out an annoyed sound.

This heat was unusual. It was nearly stifling, despite being the last vestiges of summer. The heat, usually filtered down into cool fall weather, remained at its midsummer level. Briefly he thought of home, but turned his thoughts away. Thinking of home usually brought discord into his mind, and he needed to remain calm. Not that anyone back home had caused problems. Quite the opposite. They had been nice, polite. But even in the nicest places, trouble wormed its way in-

-He was thinking about it again. Truly, a slippery slope. A few moments of focus banished the thoughts he held from his mind. He needed to be on guard basically at all times here at Beacon. That was what caused the others to fall, hadn't it? The defenders had gotten sloppy, and let down their guard, their minds in disord. Not him! He'd remain fast and strong. Grimacing once more at the heat, he decided to try and find the main atrium.

However, as he turned, he was neatly sidestepped by a taller man. This one clearly had a motif going. Oh, his shirt was a purplish, greyish color, but the rest...white pants, white boots, white hoodie. Hell, he even had a white fur cloak and silver armor. He even had a white scarf! Cyan gave him a look somewhere between incredulousness and distaste. All that white was practically glowing in the sun, so much so that he almost missed the stranger's wolf tail. Cyan couldn't help but let out a small grunt at the man's appearance. Seriously though. That much white? The other man turned, his eyes almost unfocused and dazed. Cyan just blinked, not speaking a word. The man frowned like he wanted to talk, but instead turned his head and walked away. Whatever. Cyan turned aside, almost contemplating putting on his sunglasses because of how that man _basically glowed_ in the mid morning sunlight. Cyan offered a brief hope he didn't fancy himself sneaky, or subtle in any way. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an absolutely tiny girl step off an airship. Maybe, _maybe_ 4'9". It wasn't that she herself was remarkable in any way, but rather, some effect she seemed to have. A subtle pull on the crowd. Not every person, but maybe every fifth or sixth, sometimes small groups.

Those few people seemed to almost slightly falter, their eyes slightly pull towards her. They didn't seem entirely aware of it, just a shift in stance, a flick of the eyes. Cyan couldn't find any common denominator between those affected, but he felt nothing, so he brushed it off. However...the white-clad man had turned. Maybe it was nothing, but still. He kept it in mind as he headed off towards the amphitheatre where they had been told to meet. But, his hand never left the sword. Always ready, always on guard.

In fact, another woman had tenses slightly, but relaxed. Her arm had gone over her shoulder, to that weird blocky contraption. Her weapon, obviously. He briefly wondered what kind. She was average height, well built. Maybe a heavier weapon? She was clearly attentive to her surroundings. Assessed a potential threat, dismissed it. He could get along with her. His musing were lost upon the world as he drifted off towards Beacon, passing unaware beneath cloudless skies of burning sunlight.

LOCATION UNKNOWN. 9AM.

It's funny, isn't it? The way people so readily forget what they do not wish to learn? When an enemy wishes to truly do damage, they strike where you have no defenses. Yet here Beacon stood, at its old site. Yet all of these people, making such a dire mistake. What is it that truly attacks? Is it really a person, or even a monster? Forces. Forces and ideas. All these people had such a mistake in common. They watched for monsters. They didn't watch for darkness in each human's mind, the creeping of ideas incompatible.

This was why these ideas could fester and take root. Spread like a sickness, grow like a tree. Certain ideas, dangerous ones. Specific ones.

He clasped his hands behind his back in a grand gesture. Always a performer. Even when nobody was watching. He held his head up high, his hair combed neatly.

She watched him in amusement. He fixed his appearance in the large mirror, flicking his eyes back to her. Those odd, mottled eyes, with yellow and blue swirling. They had come to an agreement, of sorts. An arrangement.

"Do we have a deal?" She asked, stretching luxuriously. He considered it. On one hand, the danger was high. But the reward was well worth it. Worth it beyond what he could comprehend. Watching her in the mirror, he came to his decision.

"We do." He said, his voice rich. Everything about him was, even with his clothes in such disarray. His features were the picture of handsome, elevated by his eloquence. Or, so he liked to think.

"Excellent." She said. There was a pause. "We shall begin immediately. After I send word, I'll be back to iron out the details." She let out a little laugh at this. Well worth it indeed.

And thus, the world took a step closer to the precipice once more

And once more, there will be no victory in strength. Something more, or less, is required to survive a war of ideas.

Perhaps something yet overlooked

Perhaps it wasn't something at all.

And perhaps, that was all that mattered.

 _End of Chapter One of As Time Goes On_


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